Outgoing Hoekstra sees bright future for British showjumping

World class performance showjumping manager Rob Hoekstra is confident he is leaving behind a team primed for even more success after announcing he will step down at the end of the year.

Since taking on the post in 2010, Hoekstra has overseen one of British showjumping’s most successful periods, including at London 2012 where Team GB beat the Netherlands to take team gold.

A total of six championship medals have arrived during his time in the job, with Great Britain also winning team gold at the 2013 European Championships in Herning with Ben Maher taking individual silver ahead of current world number one and fellow Brit Scott Brash.

Beyond his work with the Nations Cup teams, Hoekstra has also helped Britain to retain their Division One status as well as enabling new opportunities for up and coming riders, and will now take up new challenges elsewhere in the sport.

“I believe now is a good time for a new performance manager to take over to emulate and build on this success in the run up to Rio and beyond and give them adequate time to do so,” said Hoekstra, who will officially step down from his role on January 1 2015.

“They will be taking over a great team; we are reigning Olympic and European Champions and have the no 1 in the World in Scott Brash.

“I believe the sport at performance level is in a very exciting phase. With our existing Championship riders and all the new talent coming through the future looks very bright for continued British Team success.

“It has been a fantastic journey but it had always been my goal to lead the team to victory in London and then explore other opportunities and look for new challenges within our sport and I believe this is the right time to do that."